Students examine Institute role in SDI research

By Donald Yee

The MIT Disarmament Study Group (DSG) has collected over 400
signatures from students who pledged not to participate in Strategic
Defense Initiative (SDI) research, according to Chris Linn '87, DSG student
chairman.

Members of MIT Student Pugwash and the DSG collected the student
signatures at a booth in Lobby 10. Some students and faculty are currently
circulating petitions in labs around the Institute in the pledge drive for
faculty, which began approximately one week ago.

"Our goal is to get pledges from around 1000 graduate and undergraduate
students, over half the physics faculty and a large number of engineering
faculty, particularly those in the electrical engineering department," Linn
said.

The nationwide pledge drive was started by graduate physics students at
Cornell University this summer, he said. The students wanted to demonstrate
that some people are not willing to accept<>

SDI research funds and to show that there is opposition to the
program, Linn explained.

The drive at MIT was actually sponsored by the MIT Students Against SDI,
although a large number of the people involved in the drive are members of
the DSG.

"The problem is that [SDI] is misguided," said Professor of Physics Aron
Bernstein, faculty chairman of the DSG. "The only counter to a defense is
an increased offense. The program intended to protect us could lead to a
Russian buildup. That's not a very wise move."

Bernstein explained that "the DSG exists to promote discussion, education
and understanding of the nuclear arms issue on<>

campus.... As a group, we don't take a position, but as individuals we do.
I signed that pledge. I helped to circulate that petition."

Linn agreed: "Our main orientation is as an educational group. I do not
try to hide the fact that I am opposed to SDI, but we [the DSG] aim not to
be partisan. We encourage the expression of all points of view at our
meetings."